Chat with friends, play games, advertise, keep up with family, discover new people, share pictures and videos—oh, the things you can do on social media! This use of cyberspace lets users from all over the world interact and do things together in a free and fun environment, but in this free environment also lurks a menacing threat. Because of its easy-going nature, social media allows people to insult, bully, and threaten others. This activity is often referred to as cyberbullying. Sadly, many participate in cyberbullying without fear of punishment. One study shows that 81 percent of adolescents believe cyberbullying “is easier to get away with than bullying in person.” (Cox Communications 23). In order to punish cyberbullies, we should all
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The first reason is that cyberbullying is physically and mentally harmful to the victim. Victims of cyberbullying are susceptible to “depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, alienation, and suicidal intentions.” (King 851). In her article “When a Bullied Kid Grows up,” Elizabeth Landau interviews Mike Sarkany who explains how victims can suffer from these effects of bullying for the rest of their lives. Some people believe that cyberbullying doesn’t harm the victims since it isn’t actually physical; however, this is far from the truth. Physical effects of cyberbullying could include headaches and nausea. (Woods) More serious physical effects are exemplified in the situation of Kameron Jacobson, a fourteen year old who killed himself in Orange County, New York. He had been repeatedly bullied over Facebook, a social network, because other students had insulted him because of his sexual orientation. (Manuel) Sadly, this case does not stand alone. Adolescents who have been bullied online are three times more likely to attempt suicide than adolescents who were not bullied. The data also found that bullying that happened offline doubled the risk of suicide, making cyberbullying a more dangerous threat than traditional bullying. (Boschert) Other physical effects of cyberbullying occur when the offender manipulates the victim’s social status to incite or encourage a physical attack on the victim by a third party. During an interview with National Public Radio, Professor Naomi Harlin Goodno related an example of a man who impersonated his girlfriend online and publicly claimed, “I like to be gang raped.” He also posted her telephone number and home address. Six men went to her house. This information leads us to conclude that stopping cyberbullying may help save lives, and keep people out of dangerous situations caused by the
The first reason is that cyberbullying is physically and mentally harmful to the victim. Victims of cyberbullying are susceptible to “depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, alienation, and suicidal intentions.” (King 851). In her article “When a Bullied Kid Grows up,” Elizabeth Landau interviews Mike Sarkany who explains how victims can suffer from these effects of bullying for the rest of their lives. Some people believe that cyberbullying doesn’t harm the victims since it isn’t actually physical; however, this is far from the truth. Physical effects of cyberbullying could include headaches and nausea. (Woods) More serious physical effects are exemplified in the situation of Kameron Jacobson, a fourteen year old who killed himself in Orange County, New York. He had been repeatedly bullied over Facebook, a social network, because other students had insulted him because of his sexual orientation. (Manuel) Sadly, this case does not stand alone. Adolescents who have been bullied online are three times more likely to attempt suicide than adolescents who were not bullied. The data also found that bullying that happened offline doubled the risk of suicide, making cyberbullying a more dangerous threat than traditional bullying. (Boschert) Other physical effects of cyberbullying occur when the offender manipulates the victim’s social status to incite or encourage a physical attack on the victim by a third party. During an interview with National Public Radio, Professor Naomi Harlin Goodno related an example of a man who impersonated his girlfriend online and publicly claimed, “I like to be gang raped.” He also posted her telephone number and home address. Six men went to her house. This information leads us to conclude that stopping cyberbullying may help save lives, and keep people out of dangerous situations caused by the